Gary M. Albrecht, co-chair of the Real Estate Department and member of the Construction Department, is an experienced transactional attorney with a national commercial real estate practice.

Experience

He provides counsel on matters including acquisition, financing, brokerage, development and sales of commercial real estate, and dispute resolution. Of particular note is his experience with retail leasing and development and the adaptive re-use of former retail projects.

Representative matters include:

• Representing a prominent New Jersey commercial real estate owner and developer in the sale of four supermarket and pharmacy anchored shopping centers for $124.5M to a REIT in an “off market” transaction (reported to be “the largest strip center trade in Northern New Jersey over the past decade” by Northeast Real Business Magazine in 2015). The representation included the creation and administration of an on-line due diligence document database containing over 500 files for bidders’ review, establishing bidding procedures for prospective purchasers, evaluating the bids received, closing on the sale, and negotiating post-closing environmental obligations and related financial assurances.
• Assisting in the “de-malling” of a retail strip center in Virginia in order to redevelop the property as a mixed-use project (residential, retail, and service uses). The engagement has included the negotiation of an anchor tenant lease which qualified for HUD financing.
• Representation of landlords in hundreds of retail lease transactions with tenants such as 7-Eleven, Aaron’s Rents, Aldi, Annie Sez, AT&T, Auto Zone,Banfield Pet Hospital, Bank of America, Barnes & Noble, Baskin Robbins, Bassett Furniture, Bath & Body Works, Best Buy, Blinds to Go, Borders, Buffalo Wild Wings, Burger King, Buy, Buy Baby, Carters, Chef Central, Chipotle, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Citibank, CVS, Dave & Buster’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar Tree, Dress Barn, DSW, European Wax, Farrow & Ball, Federal Express, Five Below, GameStop, GNC, Golf Galaxy, Golfsmith, Goodwill, Guitar Center, Hallmark, Hot Topic, Jennifer Convertibles, JoAnn Fabrics, JP Morgan Chase, Kay Jewelers, L.A. Fitness, Linens N’ Things, Liz Claiborne, Mandees, Massage Envy, McDonald’s, Michaels Stores, Modell’s, New York & Company, Old Navy, Panera Bread, Party City, Pet Valu, Petsmart, PNC, Ralphs Supermarkets, Raymour & Flannigan, Red Robin, Ross Stores, Shop-Rite, Sleepy’s, Sprint, Sprouts Farmers Market, Staples, Starbucks, Stop & Shop, Subway, Supercuts, TD Bank, The Paper Store, The Tile Shop, TJX Companies, Sarku, Torrid, Ulta, Verizon, and Wal-Mart.
• Representation of a national toy and baby supply store tenant, national office supply superstore, national and regional supermarket chains, national home goods store and regional shoe store in leases throughout the continental United States and Hawaii.
  Assisting in the representation of the purchaser of the assets of the operator of the Vernon Valley/Great Gorge Ski resorts and Action Park water and amusement park in Vernon, New Jersey and the subsequent sale of those assets.
• Representing a NASDAQ traded provider of specialty consumer finance and asset management services in the negotiation of a sublease for a floor of a Class “A” office building located in the financial district of Jersey City, New Jersey, a non-disturbance and direct lease for additional space with the building’s owner, and a surrender of its then existing lease in Manhattan.

Networks & Affiliations

Gary has been a moderator and presenter at programs provided by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), West Legal Education Center and Bisnow. He is a graduate of the inaugural class of Bergen LEADS, a leadership program focused on issues relating to Bergen County, New Jersey, and serves on its Advisory Panel.

In service to the community, Gary served as a member of the Rent Leveling Board of the Township of Lyndhurst for six years and on the Board of Directors for Bergen County’s United Way.

Honors & Awards

Gary has been selected for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers in America^® in the specialty of Real Estate Law in each edition since 2010. In 2006 through 2009, he was named to the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers^® Rising Stars in Real Estate.

As a rising young lawyer, Gary was selected by three publications for inclusion in “Forty Under 40” features:

• Recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of New Jersey’s top forty attorneys under 40 years of age.
• Profiled by Real Estate New Jersey magazine as one of forty rising stars of New Jersey’s commercial real estate industry.
• Honored by NJBiz as one of forty top business people in New Jersey under 40 years of age.

No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

See Award Methodology.